Young skipper Jason Holder has what it takes to lead West Indies

Barbados Of the 14 international captains younger than Jason Holder none has had a tougher initiation than the towering West IndianWI skipper Jason Holder celebrates the wicket of Sri Lankas Dimuth Karunaratne on Day One of the second Test in Colombo last week PicAFPFirst appointed aged 23 last January to lead the ODI team for the series in South Africa and the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand he has had the Test captaincy added to his portfolio for the ongoing series in Sri LankaThere has been widespread support and encouragement all along for an individual clearly with the necessary intelligence and temperament for the task It is mixed with genuine concern over the gamble of placing a player without the experience of leading even his Barbados team at the head of a young unproven team at an especially fractious timeThe young onesOf his youthful predecessors only Graeme Smith who captained South Africa in 109 of his 117 Tests and Stephen Fleming who presided over New Zealand in 80 of his 111 Tests lasted the course Sachin Tendulkar overwhelmed by the double pressures of leadership and his iconic status filled the position for only 25 of his 200 Tests for IndiaResults indicate that the apprehension over Holder is not unfounded it is moderated by his response to the problems Even as his team was losing in South Africa and in the World Cup and his own bowling was being decimated by South Africas AB deVilliers he was not unnerved and manifestly remained in chargeIt was an attitude that impressed impartial observers In South Africa the West Indies were thrashed 41 in the ODIs In the World Cup they launched their campaign with a loss to Ireland In the first Test in Sri Lanka the home team now without their two retired master batsmen Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardena amassed 484 and proceeded to win by an innings inside four daysDifficult times in South Africa and the World Cup were compounded by the uproar following the dismissal of Dwayne Bravo the captain he replaced after the teams contentious abandonment of the tour of India last October over a contracts dispute with the West Indies Cricket Board WICBThese have been mirrored in Holders advance to the Test captaincy by the equally divisive suspension of head coach Phil Simmons for his biting public criticism of the continuing omission of Bravo and Keiron Pollard from the ODI squadSimmons suspensionAfter Simmons suspension Holder was bold enough to state I just hope the situation is solved quickly because we would love to have him back He has been a wonderful inspiration to us thus farIt reflected the close relationship the two had formed since Simmons arrived in March following eight successful years with Ireland In the interim the West Indies Cricket Board WICB has installed Eldine Baptiste the allrounder of the 1980s and current selector into Simmons positionEven as he himself and the majority of his young team struggle to come to terms with the demands of the game at the highest level Holder is clear as to how he sees the future I have a vision in terms of where I think I could take West Indies cricket he said on the eve of the Sri Lanka seriesWere often told that this crop of West Indies cricketers doesnt look that together on the field Thats one of my main goals For me togetherness is the way forward His challenge is to maintain his enthusiasm It becomes increasingly difficult with every setback whether on the field or off it The three Tests in Australia at the end of the year provide another stern trialGraeme Smiths adviceFor what its worth Graeme Smith has passed on advice to Holder that he claims is based on his personal experience The assertion is wide of the mark for the lefthanded opener immediately cemented his captaincy with two doublecenturies in his second series at the helm in England in 2003Apart from his matchsaving unbeaten 103 in the first Test against England last April and his swashbuckling unbeaten 83 off 63 balls against Australia in June Holder is yet to confirm his allrounders credentials after 16 Tests All the same Holder can relate to Smiths main point which was that he would have to understand the unique complexities of West Indies cricketI had to do that in South African cricket and it took me three or four years to come to terms with it he said I only started finding it out then when I understood my team the type of players I had myself as a leader and how I wanted to playThe words echoed Holders in explaining his concept of where he can take West Indies cricket The problem is three or four years is a long time to wait for a notoriously impatient board and publicTony Cozier continues to be the voice of West Indies cricket